Three members of a Pune-based business,who had allegedly tried to forge a cheque by changing the issued amount from Rs 3050 to Rs 18.5 lakh were recently arrested by the Dadar police. The cheque had been issued to them by the Pancard Club  a prominent chain of hotels and resorts.

Police officials said one of the accused,Amrita Gulab Marathe (23),had reportedly paid a membership fee of Rs 1000 and enrolled in a scheme,which promised to refund the money in case the clubs facilities werent used. She had demanded a refund of her fees and on December 17,the companys head office located at Dadar had issued her an AXIS Bank cheque of Rs 3,050. The cheque was collected by her brother Amit Marathe. About a fortnight later,the company learnt through the bank that there had been an attempt to withdraw Rs 18.5 lakh using the same cheque, said Dadar police stations senior police inspector Madhukar Sankhe.

The accused then allegedly scanned the cheque and overwrote the amount. Amritas name was replaced with that of her father,Gulab Maruti Marathe. The cheque was then deposited in the Satara branch of Indian Bank. The interaction between both banks had led to the detection of the fraud,when there was a discrepancy found between the amount issued and the amount being cited during encashment. The sum of Rs 18.5 lakh had been transferred to the Indian Bank account,when a manager from Pancard Club,Morari Ghag,approached us alleging that the Marathes had indulged in forgery and cheating, said Sankhe.

The complaint was registered on December 31 and immediately a mail was sent to the banks to freeze the account,said Sankhe.

Meanwhile,a police team from the Dadar police station left for Pune where they found that the Marathes stayed at Chikhli. We went to the Indian Bank branch where the Marathes had their account and traced their address. We learnt that the Marathes owned a small-scale glove manufacturing company and also owed amounts of money to several people in the city. Gulab Marathe had also been booked for a couple of cases before, said a police official requesting anonymity.

After laying a trap,the police nabbed Marathe and his son Amit on January 6 and a case was registered at the Dehu Road police station in Pune. Amrita had applied for anticipatory bail,which was rejected and she was arrested last Saturday. The police have also seized the computer and the scanner,which were used to forge the cheque.